Jamal Murray made a 15-foot shot just as the buzzer sounded, helping the Denver Nuggets erase a 20-point deficit in the second half to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 101-99 on Monday night. This win gives the Nuggets a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference playoff series.
Murray’s shot gave the Nuggets their first lead since the early minutes of the game and marked their 10th straight win against the Lakers, who are the reigning NBA champions.
The series now moves to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday night.
Murray’s game-winning shot happened after LeBron James missed a long-range shot with 16 seconds left and the game tied at 99. Michael Porter Jr. grabbed the rebound and, instead of calling a timeout, Murray took the ball to the right side with Anthony Davis guarding him.
He then stepped back and made the shot just as the buzzer went off, with both Murray and Davis falling onto the Nuggets’ bench as the crowd cheered loudly.
Murray scored 20 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, while Nikola Jokic recorded a triple-double with 27 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists. Porter added 22 points and Aaron Gordon contributed 14 for Denver.
Davis led the Lakers with 32 points, James had 26, and D’Angelo Russell scored 23 points with seven 3-pointers.
Despite being down by 15 points at halftime and trailing by 20 early in the second half, the Nuggets kept fighting and managed to tie the game at 95-all with 1:15 left in the fourth quarter.
Russell’s layup gave the Lakers a 97-95 lead with a minute remaining, but Murray was fouled by James and made both free throws to tie the game again.
